Filar pole-type hook strip structure for a thin-profile hook and loop fastener

ABSTRACT

A filar pole-type hook strip structure for a thin-profile hook and loop fastener comprised of a thick pad-like body that serves as a base material which has a plurality of fixed length strands disposed within to conjoin two fabric layers in an overlaid arrangement. The two fabric layers of the pad-like body are of knit construction and, furthermore, the fixed length strands are monofilament interlaced at a fixed interval between the two interior sides of the fabric layers such that they are weaved together in a parallel, with the arrayed short sections of the fixed length strands having a certain degree of rigidity and extension. The innovative features of the present invention include the horizontal cutting of the fixed length strands at their midpoints so that filar poles of equal length are linearly arrayed along the entire inner surfaces of the two facing fabric layers. After the strands have been cut, the upper extents of the filar poles are brought into close proximity to and subjected to a high temperature heat treatment and then a temperature reduction and shaping treatment such that broad globules are formed at the tips of the filar poles. This provides for the insertion and removal of the globules at the upper extent of the filar posts to and from the wool-like surface along the bottom side of the female loop strip to accomplish both engagement and release for fastening applications.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1) Field of the Invention

[0002] The invention herein relates to a filar pole-type hook strip structure for a thin-profile hook and loop fastener, wherein a thick pad-like body serves as a base material that consists of a plurality of fixed length strands disposed within to conjoin two fabric layers in parallel, the innovative features of which include: the fixed length strands are cut horizontally at their midpoints, resulting in filar poles of equal length linearly arrayed along the entire inner surfaces of the two facing fabric layers; after the cutting of the strands, the upper extents of the filar poles are brought into close proximity to and subjected to a high temperature heat treatment and then a temperature reduction and shaping treatment such that broad globules are formed at the tips of the filar poles, thereby providing for the insertion and removal of the said globules at the upper extent of the filar poles to and from the wool-like surface along the bottom side of the female loop strip to accomplish engagement and release.

[0003] 2) Description of the Prior Art

[0004] A conventional hook and loop fastener is comprised of a hook strip 2 having minute hooked extremities 21 (as shown in FIG. 1-A) distributed along its entire bottom side that are fastened to a wool-like surface 31 along the top side of a female loop strip 3 to thereby provide for engagement or release (as shown in FIG. 1-B and FIG. 1-C); the minute hooked extremities 21 (as shown in FIG. 1-A) of the hook strip 2 consists of upright plastic strands interwoven such that circular wraps are formed on the top surface of a fabric strip 22; a cut is the made in the sides of circular wraps to form the curved open-ended elements 21B of the hooked extremities 21A; as such, there are certain structural shortcomings that not only include complicated and inconvenient fabrication, but also higher production costs and slower manufacturing; a major drawback is that since the plastic strands are woven onto the fabric strip 22, this imposes width constraints when the plastic strands are disposed which impedes product upgrading and limits the scope of fastener application.

[0005] To provide for blade access during the cutting operation, the circular wraps of the plastic strands must meet certain height requirements and, as a result, the hook strip 2 suffers the shortcoming of greater thickness; the fastening strength of the active, open-ended hooked extremities is excessively high such that during release, the inordinate removal force involved pulls out fibers from the wool-like surface 31 and detracts its appearance and, furthermore, the dislodged fibers causes a gradual weakening of fastening firmness that affects long-term usage and, additionally, a loud unpleasant sound occurs each time the stiff upright hooked extremities 21 are disengaged, and the larger the square area of the fastening surface, the greater the audible intensity of the tearing, with excessive length also contributing to user discomfort.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] The primary objective of the invention herein is to provide a filar pole-type hook strip structure for a thin-profile hook and loop fastener in which a thick pad-like body surfaced on two sides by a fabric layer serves as a base material; strands of fixed length disposed in between are cut horizontally at their midpoints, resulting in filar poles of equal length linearly arrayed along the entire inner surfaces of the two facing fabric layers; after the cutting of the strands, the upper extents of the filar poles are brought into close proximity to and subjected to a high temperature heat treatment and then a temperature reduction and shaping treatment such that broad globules are formed at the tips of the filar poles, thereby providing for the insertion and removal of the said globules at the upper extent of the filar poles to and from the wool-like surface along the bottom side of the female loop strip to accomplish both engagement and release, with the arrangement also effectively allowing for fastener strips of ultra-thin proportions.

[0007] Another objective of the invention herein is to provide a filar pole-type hook strip structure for a thin-profile hook and loop fastener, wherein fabrication and finishing is greatly facilitated and more rapid to reduce fastener production costs; in addition, since the bottom layer fabric interweave of the pad-like body is of high density, fastening firmness is optimized and, furthermore, the broad globules at the tips of the filar poles enable low noise engagement and release operation, while preventing fiber displacement from the wool-like surface of the female loop strip to effectively increase utility and durability.

[0008] Yet another objective of the invention herein is to provide a filar pole-type hook strip structure for a thin-profile hook and loop fastener, wherein since the thickness of the pad-like body surfaced on two sides by a fabric layer that serves as the base material is determined in advance and the cutting and other finishing processes of the filar pole-type hook strip are completed afterwards, therefore, the base material can of extreme widths to accommodate general differences in fabric surface areas and, as such, utilization is not limited to design by trimming and thereby widens the scope of fastener application

[0009] The structural features, operation, and other particulars of the invention here are further elaborated in the brief description of the drawings below and followed by the detailed description of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010]FIG. 1-A is an orthographic drawing of a conventional hook strip, as viewed from a lateral perspective.

[0011]FIG. 1-B is an orthographic drawing the female loop strip, as viewed from a lateral perspective.

[0012]FIG. 1-C is a cross-sectional drawing that illustrates the engagement of the conventional hook strip to the female loop strip.

[0013]FIG. 2 is a drawing that illustrates the process involved in the fabrication of the filar pole-type hook strip of the invention herein.

[0014]FIG. 2-A is an orthographic drawing of the strand cutting process of the invention herein.

[0015]FIG. 2-B is an orthographic drawing of the invention herein when filar pole end temperature is increased to form globules.

[0016]FIG. 2-C is an orthographic drawing of the invention herein showing globule formation as temperature is reduced.

[0017]FIG. 3 is an isometric drawing of the base material of the invention herein.

[0018]FIG. 4 is an isometric drawing of the base material of the invention herein after cutting, with the blade positioned between the fabric layers.

[0019]FIG. 4-A is an isometric drawing of the strands after cutting, with the filar poles shown in a magnified view.

[0020]FIG. 4-B is an isometric drawing in magnified view of the filar poles after the globules are completed.

[0021]FIG. 5-A is an orthographic drawing of the filar pole-type hook strip of the invention herein, as viewed from a lateral perspective.

[0022]FIG. 5-B is an orthographic drawing of the female loop strip.

[0023]FIG. 5-C is an orthographic drawing of the filar pole-type hook strip of the invention herein engaged to the female loop strip.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0024] Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the invention herein is comprised of a thick pad-like body 4 that serves as a base material which has a plurality of fixed length strands 43 disposed within to conjoin two fabric layers 41 and 42 in an overlaid arrangement; the two fabric layers 41 and 42 of the said pad-like body 4 are of knit construction and, furthermore, the fixed length strands 43 are monofilament interlaced at a fixed interval between the two interior sides of the fabric layers 41 and 42 such that they are weaved together in a parallel, with the arrayed short sections of the fixed length strands 43 having a certain degree of rigidity and extension, the innovative features of which include:

[0025] When a continuous length of the pad-like body 4 is passed through a pair of pinch rollers S1 and S2, a blade N is horizontally aligned with the midpoints of the fixed length strands 43 along its center portion position to continuously cut the strands 43 perpendicularly; as such, this results in filar poles 431 and 432 of equal length linearly arrayed along the entire inner surfaces of the two facing fabric layers 41 and 42 (referring to FIG. 2-A and FIG. 4 for the blade N cutting position, with the result shown in FIG. 4-A).

[0026] As each of the halved fabric layers 41 and 42 are further conveyed through the fabrication process, the upper extents of the filar poles 431 and 432 are brought into close proximity to a high temperature heat treatment area (as indicated by the high temperature heating devices R1 and R2) and broad globules 431A and 432A (as shown in FIG. 2-A) are formed at the tips of the filar poles 431 and 432 due to the melting caused by heat exposure; during this finishing process, the temperature of the heating devices R1 and R2 is appropriately adjusted to control the size specifications of the globules 431A and 432A to set the conditions determining the degree of engagement firmness when they are inserted into the wool-like surface 31 of the female loop strip 3 (within the size specification range, larger globules have stronger engagement firmness and smaller globules have weaker engagement firmness).

[0027] Following the high temperature heat treatment, proximity is distanced by continuation through a temperature reduction and shaping treatment area (the cooling fans P1 and P2 shown in FIG. 2), at which time the molten globules 431A and 432A of the filar poles 431 and 432 are subjected to a rapid cooling and profiling to specified dimensions as they pass by the temperature reduction and shaping treatment area (as shown in FIG. 2-C and FIG. 4).

[0028] After undergoing cutting as well as the globule formation and shaping processes, the top ends of the filar poles 431 and 432 distributed along the inner surfaces of the halved fabric layers 41 and 42 are each tipped with a large globule 431A and 432A; as such, this provides for the insertion and removal of the said globules 431A and 432A to and from the wool-like surface 31 along the top side of the female loop strip 3 to accomplish both engagement and release for fastening applications (referring to FIG. 1-A, FIG. 1-B, and FIG. 1-C, wherein the short filar poles 431 and 432 may be selectively substituted along with the wool-like surface 31 of the female loop surfaced material 3); moreover, since the simultaneous cutting of the halved fabric layers 41 and 42 accelerates filar pole-type hook strip fabrication speed, the invention herein is economically beneficial and practical, which illustrates the advantageous aspects of the invention herein over the conventionally fabricated structure. 

1. A filar pole-type hook strip structure for a thin-profile hook and loop fastener comprised of a thick pad-like body that serves as a base material which has a plurality of fixed length strands disposed within to conjoin two fabric layers in an overlaid arrangement; the said two fabric layers of the said pad-like body are of knit construction and, furthermore, the fixed length strands are monofilament interlaced at a fixed interval between the two interior sides of the said fabric layers such that they are weaved together in a parallel, with the arrayed short sections of the said fixed length strands having a certain degree of rigidity and extension, the innovative features of which include: the said fixed length strands are cut horizontally at their midpoints, resulting in filar poles and of equal length linearly arrayed along the entire inner surfaces of the two facing said fabric layers; after the cutting of the said strands, the upper extents of the said filar poles and are brought into close proximity to and subjected to a high temperature heat treatment and then a temperature reduction and shaping treatment such that broad globules are formed at the tips of the said filar poles, thereby providing for the insertion and removal of the said globules at the upper extent of the said filar poles to and from the wool-like surface along the bottom side of a female loop strip to accomplish both engagement and release for fastening applications. 